Looking for Advice: How to Best Position My CV for Top Consulting Firms

Question

Hi everyone,

I’m currently planning a career move and would really appreciate advice from those familiar with the consulting world.

Over the past eight years, I have worked first as a consultant and then as a team leader within the Finance area of a major bank. Now, I am looking to transition into management consulting, targeting top firms such as MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain), Oliver Wyman, or Roland Berger.

I would love your insights on how to structure and present my CV to highlight:

A clear career progression from consulting to a leadership role in banking;
Strong expertise in Finance, Risk Management, and project delivery;
Experience managing teams, leading strategic initiatives, and collaborating closely with senior management;
Adaptability, analytical skills, and a strong motivation to tackle new challenges in highly competitive environments.

Any practical tips, best practices, or advice on what to emphasize (or avoid) would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks so much to anyone who can share some thoughts or experiences.

Answer 1

Hi,

Great achievements so far!

Emphasize clear progression by using strong section headers (e.g. “Finance Consultant → Team Lead”) and highlight increasing scope (budget, team size, stakeholder level).
Use bullet points to show impact, not just responsibilities, quantify where possible (e.g. “Led €5M risk initiative, reducing operational losses by 20%”).
Frame banking work in consulting language: think “problem solved,” “stakeholder alignment,” “strategic delivery”, not just execution.
Avoid listing too much day-to-day ops; instead, focus on cross-functional initiatives, decision-making, and transformation projects.
Add a short, tailored profile summary at the top to link your finance background to your consulting ambition, this helps bridge the narrative.

Happy to review your CV if you want a second pair of eyes!

Best of luck!

Answer 2

That's a great question, but it's impossible to give you a valuable answer in a Q&A without actually seeing your CV. A great CV is not only one that takes into account everything you outlined, but that tailors it specifically to your experience and communicates that in a clear and persuasive way.

You might want to consider expert feedback on the CV, which is offered by several coaches on the platform.

Best,
Cristian

Answer 3

Hi,

A CV best suited for consulting needs to highlight some of the following:

Your accomplishments
Your leadership capabilities and your ability to lead a team
Your ability to take initiative and drive
Your technical skills and capabilities, such as your financial competencies
Your ability to work with different people

Structuring your CV:

Structure your bullet points around action and impact.

So, what you do and the measurable results (preferably with numerical evidence). E.g. Led an acquisition deal worth $2M with a team of three analysts."

Framing:

It sounds like you already have strong content; it's just a matter of framing it properly.

Throughout your CV, you should emphasize your adaptability, analytical rigour, and leadership, always linking your work back to skills that consultants use daily.

Some of the skills that consultants use daily include:

Leadership and ownership e,g, leading work streams, driving projects independently, leading
Strategic problem solving e.g, structuring approaches, developing approaches etc.
Communication skills e.g. you lead and present to c-suite, you developed executive level comunciation material (also knocks off leadership and stakeholder engagement),
Stakeholder management e.g. leading teams, presenting to c-suite, working with executive level people

Happy to discuss (it is a little tricky without actually seeing your CV)